What The Water Gave Me
by Malin Halibell
Summary: Some are running from their pasts. Some have nothing at all to run from. Despite their differences, Bella, Edward, Nessie, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Tanya have one thing in common; being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they're stuck on a deserted island and must rely on each other to survive. Can they make it, or is there no hope for any of them? Drabble
1. Chapter 1

**This isn't beta'd, so any spelling mistakes are mine and mine alone.**

**Disclaimer for the entire story: I DO NOT OWN Twilight! **

**BPOV**

Everything happened so fast, I couldn't even process it all. It was a big blur playing over and over again in my head.

I wondered if it was the same for Nessie.

Looking down at my sister, only seven years old, running along beside me to keep up with my fast pace and long strides, I wondered what was going through her mind.

Was she scared?

Did she want to go home? We couldn't go back home… not after the things I did.

Was she scared of me? She shouldn't be scared of me… I hoped she wasn't.

I inhaled deeply, letting the air fill my lungs, expecting to find some sort of relief, but the anxiety, fear, anger… all of it was still there.

"Get in the car." I told Nessie, opening the passenger side door to the inconspicuous looking silver Volvo, that had once belonged to our mom.

I took my place in the drivers seat, starting up the engine and listening to the low rumble before taking off, the tires squealing on the wet pavement.

"Bella…" Nessie muttered worriedly behind me. I put on a fake smile and looked back at her in the rearview mirror.

"It's gonna be okay, sweetie. I'll figure something out… I promise." I tried to reassure her, and myself if I was being honest.

"I know Bella. You always make things better." She said, her big brown eyes, so much like my own, shown back at me with such trust.

I choked up a little, trying not to cry as I drove mindlessly away from… _that place_.

"Yeah… I'll make it better again, baby." I said through the lump in my throat.

Concentrating on the road, I tried to think of places to go… to hide. The country… we had to get out of the country. I knew that much. But where to go? I had some money in my bank account, enough to buy a couple plane tickets or something and get us started in someplace new.

Trying to make this as least stressful as possible on Nessie, I smiled and tried to make my voice light.

"We're going to go on vacation, Ness. So, do you have any place in mind?" I asked, glancing at her in the mirror.

She thought for a minute, her forehead scrunching up and her lips puckering adorably.

"I wanna go on a boat." She finally said.

"A boat? Like a cruise?" I asked.

"Yeah! That's it!" She got excited, bouncing up and down in the seat. "Can we go on a cruise, Bella? Please?"

Could we escape with a cruise?

I knew that most cruises docked in at least one or two places along the way. Maybe we could enjoy a few days out a sea, Nessie getting what she wants while I'm able to plan our next move, then just slip away from everyone on one of the little islands.

I'd have to pretty much empty my bank account, first… but a cruise would work out perfectly. I smiled the first genuine smile in days at her in the mirror.

"We can do a cruise, baby. Now, where do you want to go?"

**AN:**

**Confused? Well stick around, I promise things will be explained better later. I can't give it all away in the first chapter. **

**Hit that little review button and tell me what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Quick AN:**

**Yes, this is a story I had previously posted. I am re-posting it because FFN took it down a few months ago and a few people have been asking me if I was going to re-post it because they hadn't finished it.**

**I'll be posting two to three chapters a day so I don't totally bombard the inboxes of the people who have me on their alerts and already read it.**

* * *

**BPOV**

The Bahamas.

Nessie decided that we should go to the Bahamas and I happened to agree with her. Of course, my motives were a little different than hers. I knew there were a couple of smaller islands along the way, the ship would be bound to dock at least once.

We could take a plane to Port Caravel, Florida tonight and catch a cruise that was set to sail the next day.

Luckily, I was able to get on the phone with the cruise director and got the last two spots available on a small cruise ship.

We were in the airport now, getting ready for our flight. The airline attendant looked at me a little weird when I told her we didn't have any luggage to check in, but I managed to talk my way out of it and making good excuses.

I was very good at stuff like that.

The words just kind of flowed out of my mouth. I didn't mind though, it always helped me out of tricky situations, so I went with it.

"Bella, can I have something to drink? I'm thirsty." Nessie asked from beside me.

I looked around the airport, trying to find a vending machine.

Bingo.

A few yards away was a pop machine. I know, not the healthiest thing for a seven year old, but it was something.

I started to get up, but she grabbed my hand, stopping me and made an irritated face.

"Bella… can't I go get it on my own?" She asked in that voice kids get when they try to convince you they're gown up.

Scanning the crowd quickly for any signs of something or someone suspicious, I saw nothing and reluctantly gave her some change for the machine. My eyes never left her as she walked across the large room, weaving in and out of people who were busy trying to catch their flights.

I frowned at all of them. Both feeling sorry for them and envying them at the same time. On one hand, they were so boring, going through life in a monotonous routine. They followed the rules, never did anything wrong, kept their wants locked up inside because they were taught it was wrong.

On the other hand, they get to have normal lives; a spouse, kids, a nice house with a white picket fence and a dog.

I'd never have that. I'd never find someone to settle down with or have kids and do all the normal, everyday stuff. I couldn't. I wouldn't bring someone into my fucked up life. I already did that to Nessie and I regretted every moment of it.

My only consolation was that she was still young enough for me to get her out of it so she could have a halfway decent life of her own.

A voice came over the loud speaker and called for our flight just a few minutes after Nessie sat back down with her soda. So I grabbed her hand and walked with her to the gate, letting her carry her own ticket because she said it made her feel grown up.

I wasn't one to deny her much of anything. I knew it was because I was trying to make up for the absence of our mother, but I didn't care. All little girls need their mother, it was up to me to step into that role, anyway.

I felt like a disgrace, though. Not worthy of being her sister, let alone her mother.

Nessie shouldn't have to have a murderer as a mother figure.

* * *

**Well? Getting better? A little bit less confused? **

**Hit that review button and tell me what you think, pretty please? **


	3. Chapter 3

**EPOV**

My eyes were crusted over with sleep, so it was hell to get them open.

"Edward, we're going to be late!" A female voice screeched from another room.

_Maybe I don't want to open my eyes… _

"Edward, I swear to God if you are not out of that bed and in the shower in two minutes, I will superglue your dick to you thigh." My best friends girlfriend and personal torture master, Alice Brandon yelled at me.

I cringed and groaned at her words, instinctively cupping my dick under the covers.

"No need to threaten the big guy." I mumbled, struggling to get up.

"There is great need. We have an hour to make it to that cruise, and you still have to get ready. There's hardly anything packed!" Alice exclaimed, throwing my clothes into suitcases.

"Alice, I already packed everything I need." I grumbled, pointing to the single suitcase beside my bedroom door.

"One suitcase! _One_! Edward Cullen, how do you plan on surviving an entire week cruise in the middle of the ocean with one suitcase?" She ranted, never pausing in her crazed packing.

"This isn't going to be Gilligan's Island, Alice. I need a weeks worth of jeans and t-shirts, tooth paste and tooth brush, deodorant, and a couple pairs of shoes. That's it." I said, walking through my room to my bathroom.

"Oh my God! I'm not even… just let me pack." She called out dramatically.

I shrugged to myself and turned on my shower, stepping inside and basking in the steaming water beating down, waking me up fully.

_Nothing like a nice, hot shower. _

Today was the day that Alice was dragging me and Jasper to some Bahamas cruise to celebrate Jasper's newest book. It had reached the New York Times Best Seller list in a matter of days, making it his greatest success yet.

Jasper was being his usual modest self about it, but Alice decided it was time to celebrate, so she scheduled the three of us for the cruise, wanting to get away from it all so Jasper could relax and have fun.

I had no idea why I'd been invited along, other than the fact that Jasper and I had been friends since middle school and was pretty much his only friend.

At least a friend that didn't want him for the success and spotlight he brought.

But Jasper said that he wanted me to come along and I thought that a seven day cruise around the Bahamas wasn't going to be too bad.

I got out of the shower, wrapping a towel securely around my waist just in case Alice was still in my room.

Didn't want to scar the poor girl for life.

Now don't get me wrong here, I might be a little shy around women, but I know look pretty good. I don't mean that in a vain, douche bag, look-at-my-guns kind of way. It's just… I go to the gym a few times a week and well, I own a mirror.

But Alice was like my annoying little sister. That type that you wanted to smother with a pillow one minute and get on your knees to thank her for something amazing she's done the next minute. So I knew seeing me wet and naked would be a mood killer for the both of us.

"Here, get dressed." She shoved a handful of clothes at me. I did what she said, dutifully putting on the clothes back in the bathroom, brushing my teeth, too. Deciding to go for my contacts instead of those annoying glasses, I struggled for a minute putting them in.

Sometimes I wondered if the contacts were worth it. I hated putting shit in my eyes like that.

When I was done with everything, I went out to the living room, leaving her alone to do whatever.

Jasper was just sitting on my couch, flipping through channels on my flat screen.

"A little warning on the tornado would have been nice." I said, collapsing next to him.

"Sorry. She dragged me out of bed, too. Didn't have much time to use the phone. Next time I'll try smoke signals." He said, not even looking toward me.

I snorted. This was our relationship. Puns and quips half the time, the other half deep, meaningful conversations.

Mostly puns, though.

"There, all packed!" Alice said, lugging out three more suitcases in addition to my original one.

"Alice, I don't need al-"

"Just let it go man." Jasper interrupted.

I sighed, but got up to help her with the bags just the same. I was raised a gentleman, damn it. I wasn't about to let Alice carry bags that weighed as much as she does.

"Let's go! I'm ready for some tanning and strawberry daiquiri's!" Alice said, excited and hopping up and down on the balls of her feet.

I smiled at her enthusiasm and followed her out the door.

* * *

**AN**

**Edward! Yay! So… what do you think of him? Yes, I threw in a dash of NerdWard. I couldn't help it, I have a slight obsession with NerdWards.**


	4. Chapter 4

**BPOV**

The plane trip was thankfully uneventful.

No one recognized me, which told me that no one had found the body yet and posted my picture all over the news as a suspect. It probably wouldn't be for a few days, anyway. Not like there was a lot of people who cared about the bastard to be worrying about him.

My hands instinctively flexed into fists, _his _face popping up in my mind.

Some people that kill almost immediately regret doing it.

I don't. Not really.

How can I regret killing a man that was going to hurt my sister? It's just not possible, and I'd do it again if I had to.

The plane landed in Florida within hours, Nessie and I got out of the airport as quickly as possible. I had pulled over fifty grand out of the account our parents had left us, which was pretty much all their savings, but it was more than enough for now. I could eventually get a job wherever we ended up, and I could easily change how I looked. Maybe I'd go blond…

Now, we had just checked into a hotel. It wasn't anything special, we needed to save as much money as we could, and I wasn't about to waste it on ritzy hotels.

"Go get ready for bed, sweetie." I said to Nessie, pushing her toward the bathroom and handing her a toothbrush and toothpaste I had picked up along the way at a local store.

She did as I said without a word. I waited until the bathroom door was firmly closed before I sat down on the bed and buried my face in my hands.

Taking deep breaths, I did everything I could to keep from having a small emotional breakdown right now.

I might not regret killing him, but… I still murdered a man. In cold blood.

It all happened so quickly…

_I was going to get my sister back, one way or another. If I had to kidnap her from that horrible foster home she was in, so be it._

_It took me longer than I had planned to get the address, the asshole secretary at the social services place not willing to give over anything until I gave him what he wanted. _

_Ugh… the amount of mouthwash I'd gone through trying to get the taste of his cum out of my mouth. _

_I'm not proud of the way I go about getting things done, but in the end, giving a semi cute, but slightly creepy guy a blowjob in the supply closet was the least I would do to get my sister out of that place. _

_James Pierce. 283 North Point Street, Virginia. _

_Just a few weeks ago, my parents - if you could call those people parents - had died in a car crash, leaving me, at the age of nineteen to raise my seven year old sister. Problem was, my parents never made out a specific will, so the state had to decide whether or not I was 'capable' of taking care of Nessie. _

_They had ruled no. _

_I cried as I watched the social worker take my sister away, telling me they would put her in a foster home until our case was reviewed in another year, once again judging if I would be capable of taking care of her. _

_I wasn't going to let them take away the last good thing I had. _

_And once I did some digging about James, I could tell just by looking at him the dude was a creeper. Long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, hazel eyes that made you shiver, scruffy, like he hadn't shaved in a week. _

_Our system really was going to hell if this was the type of person they were letting take in children. _

_I finally came to the house, it was small and done in dark blue._

_Knocking on the door, James opened it a few seconds later, a beer in his hand. I scowled, but tried to be polite as I forced words out of my mouth. _

"_Hello, my name is Isabella, I'm here for my sister." I said as sweetly as possible. _

_I know, blunt and not the best approach, but it was my only one. _

_James squinted at me and frowned. _

"_Now, now… I don't think that's going to happen." He said, smiling creepily at me. _

"_Why the hell not?" I gritted through my teeth, giving up my false politeness. _

"_Because I know you; you're that little bitch from the news. Hot as hell…" He muttered, eyeing me up and down. _

"_Ain't gonna happen." I growled. _

"_Too bad. I guess I'll just have to take out my… needs on that little brat." James smirked, closing the door in my appalled face. _

_I went from stunned to furious in seconds. Opening the door, which he was thankfully stupid enough to leave unlocked, I saw his feet disappear at the top of the stairs. _

_I let out an outraged screech and ran up the stairs after him. _

_Everything was red and blurry after that. _

_I remember us fighting at the top of the stairs, him falling down them, screaming at me, calling me all kinds of names. The next thing I knew, we were in the kitchen. _

_I clawed and hit, kicked and punched. His hands had tangled up in my hair and managed to throw me against the counter. I caught a glint out of the corner of my eye beside me and turned toward it. _

_A knife. _

_Grabbing it, I thrust it toward him, and for once I saw fear flash across his face. _

"_Whoa, you crazy fucking bitch." He said, holding his hands up. _

_I didn't care anymore, I wanted him gone. I wanted it so this scum could never even look at me or Ness again. _

_I lunged forward mindlessly and heard a scream, hands on me, falling to the ground… silence. _

_I came to my senses suddenly, slowly looking down at my hands, covered in bright red blood. _

_No…_

_James was laying beside me, the knife sticking out of his chest right where his heart is and blood was dripping down to pool around him. _

_Gasping, I went to cover my face with my hands, but stopped short because of the blood. I ran to the sink, washing it all down the drain. _

_Nessie… _

_Running up the stairs, I checked the first door I came to on my left, throwing it open. The room was bare except a single bed and a dresser. _

_I saw her, sitting in the far corner, arms wrapped around her knees. _

"_Bella!" She cried out when she saw it was me, getting up and running to me, flinging her arms around my waist. _

_She was safe… that's all that mattered._

"Bella." Nessie's little voice pulled me out of my mind.

My head snapped up to see her standing in front of me, a frown on her face as she looked at me.

"What is it, sweetie?" I asked.

"Don't be sad." She whispered.

"Oh I'm not sad, I was just thinking about some stuff." I tried to assure her.

She nodded, but the frown still remained on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked her.

"Is it my fault?" She asked quietly.

"No!" I almost yell. I gentle my voice after she jumps a little. "No, it's not your fault. None of it is your fault. I did it all, it's my responsibility. Don't worry, I'll make it all better. It will all be okay."

She smiles again and I can breathe.

"Let's go to bed, we've got a big day tomorrow." I said.

We snuggle into bed together, but I don't sleep too well. I'm too nervous, worried that people will be looking for us.

* * *

**AN**

**You got to find out a little more about Bella, but there is more to her story. Way more. **

**Hit that little review button and tell me what you think, pretty please, with NerdWard on top. **


	5. Chapter 5

**EPOV**

I had to say, this was impressive.

The ship wasn't too big, considering it was just a small cruise trip, maybe fitting a hundred people. Alice had wanted it that way; less people to recognize Jasper so we could enjoy ourselves.

Once we were on deck, we were shown our cabins by a very flirty blonde, one for Jasper and Alice, and a smaller single one for me.

Not the blonds. The cabins.

I cringed at the image of the blond woman with Alice and Jasper in _that _way. I did not need that image of Alice in my head.

My room was nice; a comfortable bed, table, and dresser, with a window port giving me a good view of the ocean. The adjoining bathroom equipped with a surprisingly nice size shower.

I had been worried this was going to be shitty.

Alice told me that the ship had a swimming pool, plus a smaller kiddie pool, a dinning hall and buffet, an arcade room, and a spa. Then of course there was the deep sea diving, instructors on hand, and something Alice called 'Whale Watching'. I was just going to stay away from that one.

The ship took off shortly afterward, but I stayed in my room. Jasper let Alice loose, I could see her running around on the main deck whenever I looked out my window, Jasper trailing a few steps behind her, a big ass smile on his face.

While looking out the small window, I caught a flash of something out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head fully, I saw a small girl, no older than seven or eight, running around the deck, much like Alice.

But it wasn't the little girl that caught my full attention… it was the woman walking behind her, laughing at something the little girl had turned and said to her.

She was pretty, not quite in that outrageously beautiful supermodel way, but there was something about her that drew me to her, that made me want to go up and talk to her. That was an extremely rare occurrence for me. I normally kept away from pretty girls like that one, too worried I'd make an ass out of myself because I tended to clam up and blurt out stuff.

Her long, curly, dark brown hair was blowing around in the wind, her face was heart shaped and pale. I was too far away to tell what color her eyes were, but I pictured blue or maybe brown. A short little thing, from what I could tell, only a few inches taller than Alice.

She was wearing jean shorts, showing off her shapely legs, and a loose white t-shirt over a blue bikini top.

Maybe I will go out on deck…

* * *

**AN**

**Ooohh… our little NerdWard has spotted Bella.**


	6. Chapter 6

**EPOV**

I made sure I wasn't completely disgusting, trying to unsuccessfully tame my hair and even put on extra deodorant.

After giving myself a minute to breathe, trying to work up enough courage to talk to her, I went out on the main deck and I looked around for the mystery girl. I couldn't see her anywhere.

_Had she already gone back to her room? _

I decided to walk around for bit, casually scanning over the people for her or the girl with her. I passed Alice and Jasper, but I didn't stop to talk. Alice raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything, choosing instead to drag Jasper to the pool.

I went to the dinning hall, but she wasn't there either.

_Damn it! Did I imagine her? _

After a half hour, I started grumbling to myself and headed to the pool, the only place I hadn't looked yet.

It was a good sized pool, a couple dozen people were already littered around it, lounging in those tanning chairs or floating around in the pool.

"Hey Edward!" Alice called from her chair.

"Hey." I said once I got closer, sitting down in Jasper's chair since he was in the pool.

"What's wrong?" She asked, pushing her sunglasses down her nose to get a better look at me.

"Nothing." I said. She gave me a look that told me to stop bullshitting her, so I spilled. "Okay, I saw this girl and now I can't find her again. I've looked all over the ship. I'm starting to think I imagined her or something."

"What does she look like?" Alice asked. I was thankful she'd skipped teasing me about liking a girl.

"Really pretty, long brown curly hair, pale, about a few inches taller than you, she had a little girl with her that looked around seven." I described.

Alice frowned for a moment, concentrating.

"Do you mean Bella?" She asked.

"What?"

"Bella. Jasper and I met her on deck, she was really nice. The little girl that was with her is her sister Nessie." She explained.

My mouth fell open. Here I was, searching all over the damn ship for her, and Alice was becoming best friends with her.

"Well where did she go?" I exclaimed.

"She said that she was going up to her room to get some stuff, then she was going to meet Jazz and I down here." Alice said.

Huh.

"But don't you do anything!" She said suddenly, leaning toward me.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"This girl seems really nice and fun. I don't want you hurting or scaring away my future best friend." She said sternly.

"I'm not going to hurt her, or scare her away… hopefully." I said truthfully.

I didn't want to hurt this girl… I wanted to do a lot of things with her, but hurting her isn't one of them. And I hoped I wouldn't scare her away with my nerves or the sudden blabbering that I usually developed when trying to have a conversation with a pretty girl.

"Good." Alice perked back up again, sitting straight in her chair and pushing her sunglasses back up.

"Oh look, here she comes!" Alice said a couple minutes later, nodding to her left, past me.

My head turned to look and saw the girl - _Bella_, apparently - walking toward the pool, still in those damn tight jean shorts, but she'd taken off her white t-shirt, leaving her in a small blue bikini top that showed off her flat, toned stomach, flared hips and very ummm… _generous _sized breasts.

I was trying to be somewhat respectful here, all right?

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed, waving her over.

She came closer and I noticed that her eyes were a deep brown… but there was something off about them.

There was a smile on her face as she looked at Alice, but it was strained, and her brown eyes were nervous, worried… upset. She looked like she'd either jump out of her skin and run and hide, or snap and strangle someone.

A part of me was saying… _You finally find a girl you might like and you pick the crazy one. _

The other part was saying… _What the hell was wrong with this girl, or what had happened to her, to make her like that?_


	7. Chapter 7

**BPOV**

Alice was really nice.

A bit too hyper for my tastes, but nice. I liked Jasper too, he seemed like a cool, laid back kind of guy.

The problem?

I shouldn't like these people. I can't. I couldn't get attached, or worse, let Nessie get attached.

So when Alice started talking to me like we were good friends, even though we'd just met, I was a little standoffish. Nessie had been running along the deck, giggling like crazy while I chased after her as a game, when she collided head on with Alice.

I apologized, but Alice brushed it off and we just started talking. I don't even know how it happened, I couldn't _not _talk to someone like Alice.

At least I kept enough sense to not tell her our full names, sticking to Bella and Nessie.

When Alice asked to join her and Jasper by the pool in while, I hesitated, but between Nessie's pouting over wanting to spend more time with our new found friends, and Alice's puppy-dog eyes, I relented.

_I could play it cool… talk a little bit, laugh, have a drink or two… then in a day or two when we dock somewhere, we're gone. _

What I wasn't expecting was the incredibly hot man sitting at the pool beside Alice.

I kept a smile on my face, trying to act nonchalant, but my eyes kept darting around nervously, a habit I had… looking for someone that would recognize me and start screaming _'murderer!'_.

"Hello Alice." I greeted, smiling at her. I watched the strange man out of the corner of my eye, noticing how he stared at me with no shame.

_Oh no. Not another one of those types…_

"Hi Bella, sit down, sit down!" She trilled, reaching over to shove the guy off the chair. He gave Alice a disgruntled look, but walked off in search of another chair to drag over.

I sat down, looking around and spotted Nessie sitting on the side of the pool, kicking her feet in the water.

"I'm so glad you decided to come by." Alice gushed. I drew my attention back to her and saw that she was sitting on the edge of her chair, smiling brightly at me.

"Well why wouldn't I? You seem fun." I smiled.

"Oh I can tell we're going to get along amazingly." She grinned, winking at me.

"Hey, who's that guy you assaulted a minute ago?" I asked, half teasing.

"Oh, that's mine and Jaspers' best friend, Edward Cullen. It's just the three of us, hanging out together, taking a break from real life. I practically had to drag him along, but he totally likes it here." She whispered the last bit in a teasing, conspiring tone.

I laughed a little with her, before reminding myself that I had to keep my distance emotionally.

_Don't get attached. _

"Your hair is a funny color." I heard Nessie say.

Turning, I saw she was now standing in front of the guy Alice said was Edward, looking up at him with a curious expression on her face.

"Nessie! That's not nice to say!" I admonished. Though, his hair was an odd color; a copper color, reminding me of a penny, that stuck out all over the place. I wondered if he just rolled out of bed and came down to the pool.

"No, it's fine." Edward assured, smiling down at Nessie. He squatted down so he was eye level with her. "Yeah, my hair is kind of weird, isn't it? I got it from my mom." He said to her, tugging on a lock of his hair.

"Bella has our mommy's hair." Nessie said, pointing to me.

It was true, I had gotten Renee's dark brown color, but my curls were all from Charlie. Nessie was kind of the opposite, having Charlie's lighter brown color, but nearly straight hair, with a few waves, like Renee's hair.

"Well, it's very pretty hair." I heard Edward say as he looked over at me.

I frowned at his attempt at what I knew to be flirting, but didn't say anything, turning back to Alice instead.

We talked for a while, laughing and joking, having a couple drinks. Nessie played in the pool, I had to warn her a couple times to stay on the shallow side, but she was having too much fun with Jasper and Edward.

At first I was apprehensive about all that, but as I watched them, I saw how well they both acted around her, making her giggle and squeal as they played in the water.

Before I knew it, three hours had passed. Nessie was getting tired and came out of the pool to curl up on my lap, her eyes fluttering shut adorably.

"I should probably get her back to our room." I said to Alice.

"Of course! Are you planning on coming to dinner in the dining hall?" Alice asked.

_Distance…_

"I don't know. We'll probably just eat something up in my room." I told her, standing up with Nessie cradled in my arms. It's not like she was heavy or anything.

"Okay. Maybe we'll see each other at breakfast." She said, sounding a little put out I wouldn't be joining them.

"Maybe." I said, smiling as best I could, hating that I was practically lying to her.

"Bye Bella." Edward piped up suddenly.

It was the first thing he'd said directly to me in the four hours I'd been down here.

"Bye Edward…" I said slowly before walking off.

* * *

**AN**

**Well? Do you think Bella's a bitch? Do you think she's **_**not **_**a bitch?**


	8. Chapter 8

**EPOV**

I'm such a fucking idiot.

_Bye Bella. _

That's all I can come with? In three hours?

Other than the hair comment, of course, but that doesn't count.

What the fuck was wrong with me? Why couldn't I have a nice normal conversation with a woman?

Now Nessie on the other hand, that was the cutest freaking kid ever. I was relived when she confirmed Bella was her sister. I had a small worry that Alice had heard wrong and she was actually Bella's daughter. Though Bella looked a little young to be a mother to a kid Nessie's age.

I'd fished some information out of Nessie about Bella. She was only nineteen, but as I looked at her, I noticed she carried herself like she was about ten years older than she was. Nessie said that their parents had died, and I suddenly understood why Bella seemed so mature for her age. She had to take care of her sister. Nessie didn't say when their parents died, so for all I knew, Bella could have been taking care of Nessie for years.

"Smooth." Jasper laughed as we watch Bella walk away.

"Shut up." I groaned.

"_Bye Bella_." He mocked me.

I huffed and punched him in the arm, standing up.

"I'm gonna go back to my room. Call me when you guys are ready to get dinner." I muttered, stalking off so I could sulk in my room.

The ship was subtly rocking along with the water, waves crashing against the sides. Thank God I didn't get sea sick, or I'd probably be barfing over the edge.

Making it to my room, I threw myself down on the bed, cursing quietly to myself about my stupidity.

She probably thought I was some weirdo idiot.

The swaying motion of the ship was making me tired, so I decided to go ahead and sleep for a while before Alice came by to drag me down to dinner.


	9. Chapter 9

**BPOV**

We ate up in our room, thankfully there was room service as well. I was really starting to like this ship. Though Nessie did get a little sea sick after we got back to our room. Fortunately, we were able to make it to the toilet in time.

"I like Edward and Alice and Jasper." Nessie said as I tucked her into bed.

_This was what I was afraid of. _

"I'm glad, sweetie." I said, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Can we play with them some more tomorrow?" She asked.

I bit my lip, suddenly resenting that I even took her down with me in the first place.

"I'm not sure. We'll see tomorrow." I placated her.

"'Kay. I love you Bella." She yawned, snuggling into the covers.

I felt so fucking guilty.

"I love you too, sweetie." I whispered.

It was only ten o'clock, so I wasn't too tired yet. There wasn't much to do in the room. There was a TV, but the reception sucked out here in the middle of the ocean.

Looking back at Nessie, I saw that she was out cold, even snoring a little. I knew Nessie usually slept through the night, so if I went out for an hour, she wouldn't even notice I was gone.

Slipping my flats back on, I sneaked out of the room, making sure to lock the door securely behind me.

As I made my way down to the main deck, I noticed that only a few people were still out, walking to somewhere, or leaning against the railing with their significant other, oohing and ahhing at the view of the ocean.

I threw up a little in my mouth when I passed a couple making-out against the rail, an image of me shoving them overboard briefly flashing through my mind.

_You need some serious therapy, missy. _

Suddenly, I stopped short as I spotted a very uncomfortable looking Edward, being cornered like a rabbit by a red headed woman. She looked a few years older than me, light red wavy hair flowing past her shoulders, perfectly tanned and clear skin, all wrapped up in a short, tight purple dress and black heels.

Seriously? That dress? On a cruise ship like this? Whatever.

_Why Bella… is that jealously? _

Edward was leaning away from her, looking around wildly, trying to find a means of escape. Can't blame him. Probably didn't want to get a STD as a souvenir. Just settle with a T-shirt and save yourself from the itching and boils.

His eyes locked with mine and I saw panic and desperation, pleading to be saved from Ms. Fire Crotch.

I sighed, not believing I was going to do this…

"Baby, there you are!" I yelled out and walked over to them.

Edward's shoulders visibly relaxed as he watched me get closer.

Fire crotch turned to me with a frown on her face. I ignored her and saddled up next to Edward, wrapping my arms around his waist and snuggling in under his arm.

"Sorry I took so long. I'm ready to go get those drinks now, baby." I purred to him.

_Don't over do it… _

"Uh, it's okay." He muttered to me, staring down at me with wide eyes.

I pulled him away from Ms. Skank without another word, not even looking at her.

"Thank you." Edward said when we were far enough away.

"You're welcome. You looked like you were about to piss yourself or something." I started giggling, but when Edward turned red and wouldn't look at me, I stopped.

I realized that I was still wrapped around him like a hooker on a pole and pulled away awkwardly.

"So… umm… I'll just go." I muttered.

"Do you want to get a drink?" Edward blurted out.

I froze mid-step.

I turned around to tell him _no_, but when I saw the nervous, shy, lost puppy look on his face, I caved.

"I guess one drink won't hurt."

* * *

**AN**

**Bella and NerdWard are getting drinks! Yay! They're taking the first step. And yes, that was Tanya. I hope I don't offend anyone with the term 'fire crotch', Bella will be using it quite a bit.**


	10. Chapter 10

**BPOV**

Edward was shy.

I could tell that just after two minutes with him. He didn't seem like much of a 'ladies man', stumbling on what to say and turning pink when he said something he thought was wrong.

It was cute as hell.

Edward made me both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time.

Comfortable, because I didn't have to try to seduce him, win him over, do… _things_… for him. Uncomfortable, because well… I was use to doing those _things_. I was use to men coming onto me and wanting things, and me doing them because they had something I wanted.

I didn't know what to do with a guy that didn't want to use me for something.

But Edward was sweet, saying the most simple things and making me laugh.

"I um, I better get back to my room." I said after I finished my second drink. "Nessie's sleeping, but I don't want her to be up there too long by herself."

"Oh yeah, course." He said, getting up from the bar with me. "Thank you for having drinks with me."

"No problem, it was fun." I said truthfully, a smile on my face.

"Maybe uh… could we do this again tomorrow?" Edward asked hesitantly.

My breath hitched and I bit into my lip.

Fuck.

"I don't know." I said softly.

Edward's face fell for a second before he cleared it.

"I want to, but…" I trailed off, not knowing how to explain it.

"No, it's okay. You don't have to explain." He said, looking like he really meant it.

"I like you Edward, I really do. It's just… I can't get involved with someone right now." I told him.

"I understand. I think." He said.

I felt bad leaving him like that, all sad and depressed. He was shy, so working up enough courage to ask me out and just sitting, talking to me, probably took quite a bit.

So I did the only thing I knew to do as a way of making up for it.

I kissed him.

Pressing myself against his body, gripping his shoulders and standing on my toes, because he was at least 6'2" and I was short as hell, I pressed my lips to his.

Feeling him tense, I gentled my lips, slowly and softly working mine against his until he started kissing me back. I felt his hands come up to gently wrap around my waist, holding me to him.

I was a little surprised when his tongue slipped out and ran across my bottom lip, but didn't react negatively, just moaned a little. For once, I didn't have to fake it. Usually, I'd have to give fake moans and groans, but not with Edward. Every little whimper that came from my throat was real.

Suddenly, Edward pulled away and took several breaths, frowning down at me. He took a step back from me, dropping his hands from my waist and I was surprised when I realized I didn't want him to let me go.

"What was that?" He asked breathlessly.

"A kiss." I answered, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No. I know what _that _was… I'm just confused. One moment, you're saying you can't see me again, the next, you're kissing me. I don't get it." Edward said.

"I…" I didn't know. "I'm sorry." I mumbled and ran.

_They're not supposed to ask questions. Guys never ask questions._

"Bella, no!" I heard him call after me, but I didn't stop for him, running along the deck.

The only thing that did make me stop, was the sight of a humongous wave coming toward the ship.


	11. Chapter 11

**EPOV**

That kiss was… holy fucking shit.

I was surprised that she actually kissed me, but melted into her and kissed her back, greedy for her soft, warm lips. My hands engulfing her tiny waist.

It was heaven.

Then, reality kicked back in.

She'd told me couldn't see me again, that she couldn't get involved with someone, then she kisses me like I've never been kissed before.

It didn't make sense, but when I told her that, I regretted it immediately. Bella's face was panicked, nervous, confused… scared.

I wanted to take back what I'd said and wrap her up in my arms again.

She turned and ran from me and I called out for her to stop, but she didn't seem to hear me, or ignored me. So I went after her, running out of the small bar we had been in and onto the deck.

Bella was just standing there, a few feet away from me, staring at the water.

"Bella!" I said when I ran up to her, lightly gripping her wrist gently so she couldn't run from me again. "I'm sorry I was such an assho-"

Before I could finish, her hand shot up at lightning speed, grasping my chin and yanked my head out toward the ocean.

"Holy _shit_." I breathed out.

A massive wave that looked like it could be a fucking tsunami was coming right for the ship.

It was too close, it would be here in about a minute. Maybe less.

"Run!" I yelled and pushed her. Bella finally got into gear and was running down the deck and up the stairs to where the rooms were.

I knew where she was going… Nessie was up there. And so were Alice and Jasper. I was running after her, only a few steps behind.

_A minute… _

I started banging on Alice and Jasper's door with everything I had and yelling at the top of my lungs.

"Get up, get up! Get the fuck up! Jazz! Alice! Come on!" An angry Alice flung the door open.

"Wave!" Was all I managed to get out.

"We're in the ocean, there's a lot of waves." She grumbled.

"No. Huge wave that will capsize the entire fucking ship, wave!" I screamed.

_Fifty-five seconds… _

Her face cleared of any sleep, alert. Jasper was out the next second, pulling on pants over his boxers as he ran past me.

Next thing, Bella is next to me with a still half asleep Nessie in her arms.

"What are we going to do?" Bella asked, panic filling her voice.

_Fifty seconds… _

"We can't run anywhere." Alice said.

"Jump." I said. "We have to jump, now. If we go down with the ship, there's a greater chance we won't make it. It'll suck us under with it and we'll drown before we can reach the surface again."

"What about everyone else?" Bella asked.

"You really want to waste time waking up everyone while we could be working to save our own lives?" I hissed at her, feeling bad even a I said it.

Her eyes darted down to Nessie for half a second before she shook her head, agreeing with me.

Jasper had come back and was now lugging out two suitcases out of their room.

"Seriously?" I asked incredulously.

This is no time to save Alice's clothes.

"Hopefully, these can float. I'm pretty sure Nessie can't swim for too long, she'll need something to float on. And there's another one so we can take turns." He said, carrying them past me.

Oh.

Good idea.

Alice and I grabbed more of the large suitcases, one for her and two for me, following Jasper down to the deck.

_Forty seconds… _

Throwing them over board quickly, I turned to Alice and Bella. Alice was watching the wave, her eyes huge, and Bella had finally gotten Nessie awake and was talking to her, telling her that when we jumped into the water, she needed to swim.

"Jump." I said, grabbing Bella and pulling her to the rail.

"I can't jump with Nessie!" She yelled.

"I'll take her." I grunted, grabbing Nessie out of her arms and cradling her in my own.

I saw Jasper lift Alice up over the railing and then she disappeared, then I heard a splash a second later.

Bella went next, giving me and Nessie one last glance before jumping over the edge.

_Thirty seconds… _

I went the same time as Jasper, making sure I had a good grip on Nessie before jumping, plunging into the water.


	12. Chapter 12

**BPOV**

All I could think about as I hit the water was I was thankful it wasn't cold.

I was not in the mood to remake the Titanic.

Though it still stung like a bitch when I made contact. I was sucking in air as I heard two more splashes near me.

_We have to get away from the ship… it'll drag us down with it. _

So I started swimming away from the ship as fast as I could.

I swam as fast and as far as I could, not even looking back.

Suddenly, there was a crash and a second later I could hear screams.

_All those people still on the boat… _

I felt an arm wrap around my waist and I was pulled into a solid body. Edward just as soaked as I was, one arm securely wrapped around Nessie, who was clinging to his neck, his other arm keeping me to him.

"Take a deep breath." I heard his breathless voice in my ear.

I did as he said, making sure Nessie did as well as she buried her face against his chest.

Moments later I couldn't see anymore… there was nothing but water all around me. In my eyes, up my nose… choking me.

Even the screams were cut off.


	13. Chapter 13

**BPOV**

My eyes were trying to open, but they burned.

"Bella."

I heard someone say my name.

_Who the hell… _

Instantly I was up, ready to kick whoever's ass was in my room. But I quickly realized I was surrounded by water.

What the fuck?

Then I remembered it… the massive fucking wave coming toward to boat… Edward, Alice, Jasper, me and Nessie jumping over the ship before it took us down with it.

All those unsuspecting people screaming as they realized too late what was happening… that they were most likely about to drown in a ship in the middle of the ocean.

"Bella it's okay, well not really. I guess it's as good as it's going to get." The voice I now recognized as Edward rambled on tiredly.

"Nessie." I spoke hoarsely.

Edward tilted his head behind me and I saw Nessie on one of those huge black suit cases Jasper and Edward threw overboard with us.

_Thank God they actually float. _

I was worried they'd sink.

She was asleep, but her little face was scrunched up uncomfortably.

Jasper was in the water beside her, with Alice on his back, arms wrapped around his neck. I guess she was light enough to do that.

I belatedly noticed that I too was on a suitcase, just floating along in the water with Edward treading water beside me.

"What happened to the other suitcases?" I mumbled.

"Washed away. We were lucky we still had these nearby." Edward answered.

"Where is…" I trailed off, not really sure I wanted to know what had happened.

"The boat went down." Edward started solemnly. "It sunk within minutes. I don't know if anyone else got away. The wave carried us too far away to see any people. We've just been floating, the water carrying us further and further away."

I took a look around me… No boat, no land, nothing. Nothing but water and the five of us stranded, floating around in the middle of the ocean.

We were going to die.


	14. Chapter 14

**BPOV**

Sweet bacon wrapped baby Jesus it was hot.

When I first woke up - regained consciousness, whatever you want to call it - it had still been dark outside, so it had been fairly cool.

Now, it felt like we were in an oven.

The sun was high up in the sky, telling me it had to be around noon, and beating down on us without mercy.

I couldn't tell what was sweat and what was water anymore. All of us were tired. We tried taking turns on the suitcases, but Edward and Jasper were too heavy to be on them and still float, so we let Nessie stay on one and me and Alice switched off on the second one.

Poor Edward, he was already starting to turn red from the sun, his eyes had dark circles under them from not sleeping all night and he looked so tired. I finally told him to rest his upper body on the suitcase and I gripped his arms to help keep him on it, trying to give him an opportunity to rest a little.

Jasper had mention something about sharks a couple hours ago… Yeah, we haven't talked much after that.

"I wanna go home." Nessie cried, breaking my heart.

_I wanna go home too, sweetie. _

"I know baby, but we can't." I said. What else could I tell her? I never thought I'd have to comfort her after a shipwreck, so I didn't have much time to prepare, you know?

At first, we figured at least one of the crew members had gotten to the radio to notify someone that the ship was about to go down, so maybe there would be someone coming to rescue us in a few hours.

That had been a good fourteen hours ago. At least.

"What are we going to do if no one comes to rescue us?" Alice asked.

"The best we can hope for is that we come across some form of land." Jasper said quietly.

"Then what?" I asked.

Edward groaned.

"What is it?" I asked him, concerned he was hurt or something

"Before the trip… I was teasing Alice about packing too much stuff and I said 'It's not going to be Gilligan's Island.'" He groaned again.

"It's going to be Gilligan's Island, isn't it?" I asked Jasper, catching on to what Edward was trying to say.

"If we're lucky, yes it's going to be something like that." He told me. "Probably a little worse."

I muffled the curse words that wanted to fly out of my mouth by burying my face in my arms.

"What about food and water?" Alice asked.

No one had an answer for that.

Well, at least now I didn't have to worry about anyone finding me.


	15. Chapter 15

**EPOV**

My legs felt like they were made out of led. My eyes still stung from all the salt water, and my contacts had been lost, so everything around me was blurry. Not that there was anything around me but water, anyways.

Well, there was Bella.

I wish I could look at her without her face being blurry.

I was praying to any God that would listen for someone to rescue us, or at least find land. I just didn't want to be in this water anymore.

Jasper and I had been trying to not to tell the girls too much, because we didn't want them to freak out more than they already were, but we weren't even close to the Bahamas and we'd already traveled too far away from the States.

It's not like we could just swim back.

My main concern was Bella and Nessie, though. If we didn't get help soon, we'd die from dehydration. All of us were already hungry and terribly thirsty, Nessie kept crying when she woke up, and Bella would have to find some way to comfort her, which was only wasting what energy she still had.

A few hours passed, none of us really talking, trying to conserve energy, when it was time for Bella to switch off with Alice again.

She slid off the suitcase into the water beside me and I instantly wrapped my arm around her waist to help keep her afloat. Alice carefully climbed on and let out a little groan of relaxation as she collapsed on it.

"Are you alright?" I asked Bella softly.

She glared at me for a moment, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Oh yeah, I'm just fucking peachy." She snapped.

_Guess I deserve that for such a stupid question. That's why I don't talk to girls; I always say the wrong thing and they get pissed. _

"Sorry." I muttered and looked away.

Bella sighed and I felt her hand on my cheek, making me look at her again. "No, _I'm sorry_. I'm being a bitch. I just don't feel good and I'm tired and hungry. I'm sorry I snapped at you." She apologized.

"I guess it was kind of a stupid question anyway." I reasoned. "Out in the middle of Atlantic with no food or water and I'm asking if you're okay; course you're not."

"I'm sorry I snapped at you anyway, no matter how stupid the question is, you don't deserve that." She whispered.

"You two are so freaking cute." Alice cooed, smiling at us.

_Even floating out at sea and dehydrated, Alice is still Alice. _

"Shush." I mutter, but I gave her the best smile I can manage.

"Hey, what's that?" Bella asked, pointing to my left.

I squinted at where she was indicating, but I couldn't even see three feet in front of my face, so it was a wasted effort.

"It's a raft!" Jasper exclaimed, showing the most energy he had in several hours.

"Is there someone in it?" I asked, wondering if it was some kind of search party looking for survivors.

"I don't think so. It looks empty." Jasper said. "I'm going to go get it."

I watched apprehensively as Jasper swam away until he was too blurry. Bella pulled away from me and swam over to Nessie, who was thankfully sleeping.

A few minutes later, Jasper was back, dragging the lifeboat with him. It wasn't much; just one of those orange inflatable ones, but it was big, enough for all five of us.

"Problem. Well, not really a problem - she's alive." Jasper said as he reached us.

"What?" All three of us said in unison.

I squinted over the edge of the raft to see a vaguely familiar woman sprawled out.

"Oh no! It's fire crotch!" I heard Bella moan.

_Fire crotch? _

* * *

**AN**

***gasp* Not fire crotch!**


	16. Chapter 16

**BPOV**

It took me a moment to recognize her, but when I looked past how horrible and disheveled she was, I saw the light red hair, perfectly curvy body, and she was still wearing that skin tight purple dress.

Shit.

Now, not only was I probably going to die at sea, I was going to die with the skank that can't keep from sinking her claws into Edward.

_You're feeling very territorial over Edward, aren't you? _

I growled at my inner thoughts and pushed them away.

"Are you sure she's alive?" I asked Jasper.

_Maybe we can just throw her overboard…_

"I checked; she's got a pulse." He said.

I frowned, but didn't say anything else. I was just grateful we have something more solid and much larger to get in.

Jasper reached in and poked her a few times until her eyes opened into slits.

"Am I dead?" She mumbled.

"Not yet." Jasper told her.

She looked at him more closely, then slowly moved her eyes along me and Edward.

"Hey… aren't you-"

"Yeah, yeah, you've seen us before." I interrupted her. "Listen, we need this little raft here, you don't mind sharing do you? Good."

I didn't wait for an answer before heaving myself over the edge and into the raft.

The others obviously didn't care what her answer was either, because Edward handed Nessie in to me before letting Alice climb in, followed by him and Jasper.

"Yeah sure… come on in." Fire crotch muttered belatedly, pulling herself into a sitting position and moving to the corner of the raft, giving us more room.

"Do you three know each other or something?" Alice asked, pointing to Ms. Hooker Dress, and me and Edward.

"No, not really. She was just ummm… _hitting _on me back on the ship." Edward said, wincing as he did so.

"What? He's cute. I won't mind showing him som-"

"Shut your pie hole before I throw you overboard." I snarl at her, surprised at my own hostility.

She glared at me, but wisely didn't say anything else.

"What about the suitcases?" Edward asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"There should be some rope or something like it attached the raft." Jasper said, looking around the outside of the raft, reaching over to feel along the sides. "Here it is." He came back with a few feet of rope wrapped up.

Tying one end to a black plastic loop on the edge of the raft, making sure it was secure before reaching out, barely able to get the cases, and pulled them close, threading the other end of the rope to through both handles and tying it off.

"There. That should hold 'em." He said when he was finished.

Alice was sitting closest to fire crotch, so she made an effort to turn to her and start to make conversation.

"What's your name?" Alice asked her.

_Can't we just keep calling her Fire Crotch? _

"I'm Tanya." She muttered to Alice weakly.

_Tanya… that sounds like a skank name._

Oh Jesus, I seriously need to stop. What was wrong with me?

"I'm Alice. And this is my boyfriend Jasper, our friends Edward and Bella, and Bella's sister, Nessie." Alice pointed each of us out as she went.

She gave a disheartening _hey _and turned away.

I frowned. This was not the same woman I saw flirting and digging her talons into Edward.

"How did you survive?" I asked her quietly.

She turned to look at me. "I don't know. The last thing I remember, I was in my room, getting ready for bed, then there was this huge crash… my room started to tilt… I thought it was so weird… Then I heard people screaming… and when I woke up, I was just in this raft. I don't remember how I got on it or anything. I don't know why I survived."

I heard Edward mumbling something about temporary memory loss and blocking things out, but it wasn't loud enough for Tanya to hear.

I didn't ask her anything else, choosing to stay quiet for a while.

"Well, we have a raft. What about food?" Edward asked everyone.


	17. Chapter 17

**BPOV**

"We can try fishing." Alice said.

For some reason I burst out laughing. An image of all of us floating along, holding fishing poles in those ridiculous fishing vests was hilarious, and a more sane part of my brain didn't understand why.

Edward immediately turned to me and cupped my face in his hands, but I still kept laughing.

"I think she's going into some kind of shock." I heard him tell everyone.

"Bella?" Nessie asked, sounding worried.

I kept laughing, I couldn't stop, even though I tried.

_What the hell is wrong with me? _

"Bella, listen to me." Edward's voice was in my ear. "Just try to breathe… take some deep breaths."

I tried to do as he said, but it didn't seem to be helping me much. I curled into him, pressing my face against his shoulder. After a minute of taking deep breaths and trying to calm myself down, it finally started to work.

"What the hell was that?" I asked after I fully recovered from my fit.

"That was your mind trying to deal with what's happened. Sometimes, when you don't let things out properly or keep them in, they come out in other, weirder ways." Edward explained.

"So she just had a nervous breakdown?" Alice asked incredulously.

"No, it's not a nervous breakdown. You just weren't processing things." He said.

"Well, it's kinda hard to process all of this!" I yelled, burying my fingers through my tangled, wet hair in frustration.

"Calm down." Edward whispered to me.

I glared at him from the corner of my eyes, but listened, trying not to snap at him again.

_He's just trying to help…_

Instead of snapping or yelling again, I reached out and dragged Nessie into my lap, who immediately wrapped her arms around my neck. Rocking her and smoothing her hair behind her ear was calming to both of us.

"Food… food… food…" Jasper mumbled, thinking. "We can't fish, there's nothing to cook or even clean it with. Unless we'd like raw fish."

We all made faces at that. I didn't even like sushi in restaurants.

"Tanya, did you notice a food pack or something like it when you first woke up?" Jasper asked her.

"I didn't notice anything." She told him.

He huffed, irritated at our problem.

I glanced up at fire crotch - I refuse to use her name - and noticed she was looking at me funny. Her eyes were narrowed and she had her head tilted to the side, examining me.

"What's you problem?" I asked, full of attitude.

"You look familiar." She said.

I paled, hoping to God that she wasn't about to say what I think.

"Yeah, you're that chick from TV." She exclaimed, snapping her fingers and pointing at me.

_Fuck. Not here, not now._


	18. Chapter 18

**EPOV**

The TV? I didn't know Bella had been on TV. She certainly was pretty enough for it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bella said to her.

Tanya ignored her, however.

"Didn't your whole family die in that freak car crash?" She asked.

I saw Bella flex her fists, but there was a smile on her face.

"Nope, not me." She said.

I had the sneaking suspicion she was lying. But why would Bella need to lie about something like that? There was nothing wrong with her parent's dying in a car crash. It was sad, but wasn't anything uncommon.

"I know it's you! Isabella Spencer… no… Singer… it's an 'S' name… Swan! Isabella Swan!" Tanya exclaimed. "I remember watching the news and thinking you were so weird. And what your parent's were into-"

She didn't get a chance to finish, because all of a sudden Nessie was on my lap and Bella was wrapping her hands around Tanya's neck.

"No!" Jasper bellowed, reaching over Alice to grab Bella.

"You don't know anything you stupid skank!" Bella was yelling.

Tanya was screaming and trying to pry Bella's hands away from her neck, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Stop it, both of you! Stop! You can't fight like this on the raft!" Jasper yelled.

Poor Alice was just trying to get away from the apparent fight. As I watched Bella going at it, I reddened, realizing with much embarrassment that it was turning me on.

Hair was pulled, people were choked, and nails scratched skin until Jasper was able to pull Bella away from Tanya, securing her with his arms around her.

Jealously flared inside me. I wanted to do that. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her to me, even it was because I was holding her back from Tanya.

"Calm down!" Jasper yelled at her.

"Just throw her overboard or something!" Bella yelled back.

"Oh! Throw _me _overboard? Who's raft was this before _I _let you on it?" Tanya screeched.

"I'm pretty sure it says 'Property of Eclipse Cruises' on it! Not 'Property of Fire Crotch'!" Bella snarled back.

I couldn't help but laugh, but when all four of them shot me a look, I quickly shut up.

Tanya growled and made a move for Bella, but Alice moved between the three of them.

"We all just need to take a minute and calm down!" She announced, trying to defuse the situation. "The two of you cannot fight like this on the raft. You'll tip it over, or damage it in some way that none of us can afford. This isn't like back home, okay? Out here, this is about survival. We're going to have to put away our petty thoughts, or whatever the hell this, and work together to live!"

All of us were silent after that.

Jasper released Bella and she crawled back over to her spot beside me. Tanya glared at each of us one by one, but shrunk back into her corner, arms folded across her chest.

"Alice is right." Bella admitted after a while. "But, if you mention my parents one more time, I _will_ throw you overboard."


End file.
